Miami football clinched a spot in the 2026 College Football national championship game on Thursday, Jan. 8.

Now the No. 10 Hurricanes will sit back on Friday, Jan. 9, to await their opponent for the Jan. 19 national championship game from HardRock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. While the game will be a default home game for Miami, a potential homecoming could be in store for their opponent.

If No. 1 Indiana football defeats No. 5 Oregon in the CFP Peach Bowl semifinal on Friday in Atlanta, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza will make a homecoming return to the Miami area for a chance at the championship.

Mendoza, a former 2-star recruit, has been the catalyst for the Hoosiers during their undefeated CFP run. The first Heisman Trophy winner in Indiana history finished the 2025 season 240-of-332 passing (72.3%) for 3,172 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions, to go along with 77 rushes for 256 yards and six touchdowns.

Here’s everything to know about Indiana’s star quarterback ahead of its CFP semifinal matchup against the Ducks:

Who is Fernando Mendoza?

Mendoza was born in Boston in 2003, but was raised in Miami, where he attended Christopher Columbus High School.

Out of high school, Mendoza was only a two-star recruit, and despite efforts to reach out to Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina and LSU, he was turned away for roster spots as a high school junior.

Eventually, Mendoza committed to Yale on Aug. 4, 2021. Following a visit to Cal on Jan. 28, 2022, Mendoza de-committed from Yale on Jan. 31 and then committed to the Golden Bears one day later.

Mendoza redshirted his freshman season with Cal. However, he began to establish himself as a redshirt freshman, making his first career start on Oct. 7, 2023. He finished the season with 1,708 yards passing, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

As a sophomore, he was the starter from the beginning of the season and finished with 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions; 87 rushes for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

Following the 2024 season, Mendoza entered the portal to give himself a better opportunity to establish himself as an NFL QB draft prospect.

‘I still believe I have a ton of things to get better at,’ Mendoza told IndyStar in January following his transfer. ‘Indiana was the best place for me to make that jump developmentally.’

Fernando Mendoza age

Mendoza was born on Oct. 1, 2003, making him 22 years old for the 2025 college football season. Mendoza, who is expected to enter the 2026 NFL Draft, will be 23 years old next NFL season, but will still be 22 when he is drafted.

Where is Fernando Mendoza from?

Mendoza was raised in Miami before attending Christopher Columbus High School in Miami.

Fernando Mendoza NFL mock draft

If Mendoza declares for the 2026 NFL Draft, as expected, he is likely to be one of the top, if not the top, quarterbacks selected. Here’s a look at recent NFL mock drafts involving Mendoza:

• Walter Football (Updated: Jan. 7): No. 1 overall to the Oakland Raiders
• ESPN (Updated: Jan. 6): No. 1 overall to the Oakland Raiders
• Pro Football Focus (Updated: Jan. 5): No. 1 overall to the Oakland Raiders
• The Athletic (Updated: Dec. 30): No. 2 overall to the Cleveland Browns

Fernando Mendoza recruiting ranking

Mendoza, part of the 2022 recruiting class, was the No. 2,149 overall player and No. 140 quarterback back in the class, per 247Sports’ Composite ratings. He committed to the Golden Bears over offers from Yale, FIU and Leigh, among others.

Here’s a look at Mendonza’s recruiting ranking out of high school:

• Stars: 2
• National rating: No. 2,149
• Position ranking: No. 140 QB
• State ranking: No. 288 in Florida

Following two seasons with Cal, Mendoza entered the transfer portal on Dec. 11, 2024. Thirteen days later, he committed to Cignetti and the Hoosiers, and the rest is history. He was ranked as the No. 22 overall player and the No. 4 QB in the 2024 portal class.

Fernando Mendoza stats

Here’s a look at Mendoza’s stats in his three collegiate seasons with the Golden Bears and Hoosiers:

• 2022 (Cal): Redshirted
• 2023 (Cal): 153-of-243 passing (63%) for 1,708 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions; 49 rushes for 86 yards and two touchdowns
• 2024 (Cal): 265-386 passing (68.7%) for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions; 87 rushes for 105 yards and two touchdowns
• 2025 (Indiana): 240-of-332 passing (72.3%) for 3,172 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions; 77 rushes for 256 yards and six touchdowns

Another star point guard could be on the move ahead of the NBA trade deadline.

The Memphis Grizzlies are entertaining offers for Ja Morant for the first time with an eye toward potentially moving him to another team before Feb. 5, according to a new ESPN report on Friday, Jan. 9. Though Morant has been the subject of trade rumors previously, especially since he served a one-game suspension following a dispute with coach Tuomas Iisalo in November, the franchise previously shot down speculation it was considering another direction.

Multiple teams are pursuing Morant, ESPN reported, and Memphis is seeking young players and/or draft picks in return if it were to complete a deal. Morant’s potential availability comes on the heels of the Atlanta Hawks trading star point guard Trae Young to the Washington Wizards earlier this week.

Ja Morant is in the third season of a five-year, $197-million contract. He is set to make a salary of more than $42.1 million next season and $44.8 million in 2027-28.

Ja Morant trade landing spots

Several teams are already being linked to Morant on a speculative basis since his potential availability became public.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota is looking for point guard help for Anthony Edwards entering the NBA playoffs and could use Julius Randle and 2024 first-round pick Rob Dillingham to pull off a trade with the Grizzlies. The Timberwolves have also been named as a potential landing spot for Bulls guard Coby White. One drawback is Minnesota doesn’t have much to offer in draft picks due to previous transactions.

Miami Heat

If the Heat decide to make a splash at the trade deadline, they could offer the Grizzlies guard Tyler Herro and perhaps an enticing young role player such as Ke’lel Ware or Jaime Jacquez.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks are desperate to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo happy and perhaps a pairing with Morant in Milwaukee would appease him. Guard Ryan Rollins and draft picks could be part of a potential trade package, though Memphis would need to take on some of the Bucks’ bigger contracts to make the deal work.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings appear willing to trade much of their roster at the deadline, with players such as Zach Lavine, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan and Keon Ellis all mentioned as potentially on the move. Sacramento has three first-round draft picks over the next two years. Would it be willing to part with one, and/or an intriguing young player like Ellis, to build around Morant and unload a high-priced contract.

Ja Morant stats

Morant is averaging 19 points. 7.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 18 games this season. He’s shooting a career-worst 40.1% from the field and 20.8% from 3-point range.

When Rachael Rose stripped the ball away from Khamil Pierre and then connected on a fast break layup, it was easy to see the energy shift inside Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum with about two minutes left to play.

The swipe-and-score gave Clemson a 10-point advantage against mighty North Carolina State, and the Tigers would hold that margin to defeat the Wolfpack 75-65 on Thursday night. It was the first time Clemson had beaten NC State in women’s basketball since 2011, snapping a 16-game losing streak in the series for the Tigers, and served as a statement win for coach Shawn Poppie in his second season at the helm.

“I feel like we got a gritty group. Bunch of scrappy kids. It’s slowly building confidence as this thing’s gone on. Part of getting over a hump is you got to believe,” Poppie told USA Today Sports. “They think they’re good, they’re seeing the results. We’re a heck (of) a lot better today than we were in November, that’s for sure.”

Beyond just being a signature victory for Clemson, the moment could be interpreted as an avatar for the increased parity across women’s college basketball during a season in which upsets haven’t been hard to find.

Just look at the results in the past week: Oregon defeated USC, Cincinnati got over Iowa State, Ole Miss won at Oklahoma, and Alabama took down Kentucky. Elsewhere in the sport, two unlikely programs — Vanderbilt and Texas Tech — remain undefeated and have stormed into the national rankings. The Red Raiders haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2013, and the Commodores haven’t won a game in March Madness since the same year.

The increased parity in the sport can be attributed to many elements, but one rises above all else. The transfer portal and freedom of movement for players has leveled the playing field and allowed coaches to flip rosters quickly and fast-track what would have been lengthy rebuilds just a few years ago.

Clemson is a prime example.

“Part of the parity is, some of these kids, instead of sitting and watching, they want to play. And they’re good players. And so, that has helped in our case,” Poppie said. “The other side of it is, some mid-major kids that want to come and prove themselves at a higher level get the opportunity. And we’re in a position to take some of those kids that have a chip on their shoulder and can compete at a high level.

“It’s allowed us to compete in a heck of a conference in the ACC again.”

After working under Kenny Brooks for six years and helping build Virginia Tech into a team that would reach the Final Four in 2023, Poppie spent two seasons as the head coach at Chattanooga, where he went to NCAA Tournaments in both seasons. Ahead of last season, he was hired at Clemson to revive a program that had been to March Madness just once since 2002.

Poppie transformed the roster, bringing in 11 newcomers — 10 of them transfers. Clemson improved marginally on the court last season, but also captured a meaningful win in the ACC Tournament by defeating Stanford. The Tigers also set a program record for 3-pointers made in a single season, embracing the identity he wanted them to adopt. Ahead of this season, Poppie reshaped the roster again, bringing in three freshmen and six transfers.

One of those transfers was Rose, who missed most of last season at Wofford with a leg injury.

A decade ago, Rose would have likely spent her entire college basketball career at USC Upstate, where she played as a freshman. The transfer portal didn’t exist until 2018, and before 2021 non-graduate students had to sit out a full season after transferring to a new school in most cases. That rule discouraged transferring and made roster flipping difficult.

But Rose — and countless other players — have taken advantage of the new system.

When her coach at USC Upstate, Becky Burke, left for Buffalo in 2022, Rose bolted too and transferred to Wofford. In the 2023-24 season, as a junior, she was seventh in the nation in scoring with 22.3 points per game and led the Terriers to an appearance in the SoCon tournament title game, where they lost to Poppie’s Chattanooga.

Since she only appeared in five games before her injury last season, Rose got an extra year of eligibility. After graduating from Wofford, she elected to stay in South Carolina and spend her final year of college hoops with Poppie at Clemson.

“I think for us, (the transfer portal) is something we’ll always try to utilize. I don’t want to necessarily build our program off of that. I think we’ve had the most success out of the kids we know,” Poppie said. “Like in Rachael’s case, competing against her for two years at Chattanooga. I saw what kind of a competitor she was. … I’ve stayed up plenty of nights trying to figure out how the heck we’re going to guard her.”

And now, she’s helping the Tigers win crucial games in the ACC.

“She’s just playing aggressive again,” Poppie said. “It’s nice that she’s seen the ball go through the basket a little bit. That helps your confidence as well. But the kid has always been a competitor.”

Rose had a season-high 19 points in the victory over NC State, which is Clemson’s second Quad 1 victory of the year. Clemson is 12-5 overall and 3-2 in ACC play, and looks like a team that could sneak into the NCAA Tournament.

Of course, Rose isn’t the only transfer shining for Clemson. Rusne Augustinaite is among the ACC’s leaders in 3-point shooting, hitting at a 42.9% clip, and played last season at Georgia Tech. Mia Moore played at Mississippi State and UAB before landing with the Tigers. Leading rebounder Hadley Periman came to Clemson from Tulsa.

Across the sport, programs are using transfers to reach new heights.

Texas Tech, which is off to its best start in program history, got its second-leading scorer from Ole Miss and its leader in assists from Campbell. Vanderbilt is led by high-scoring sophomore Mikayla Blakes, but also starts two transfers. The top scorer for Ole Miss is Cotie McMahon, who played three seasons at Ohio State. Mia Jacobs — who, like Rose, is on her third collegiate team — tallied 11 points and five assists in Oregon’s upset of No. 21 USC. Cincinnati’s best scorer in its win over No. 13 Iowa State was Mya Perry, who played her last two seasons at FAU. And for Alabama, former NC State guard Jessica Timmons was its top scorer in its victory against No. 7 Kentucky.

“I think there are a lot of those stories out there. I think we have a handful on our roster right now where the portal is a good thing,” Poppie said. “And I give my staff a lot of credit. You know, as these names come through, we’re not just going for kids chasing money or for the wrong reasons. We’re getting the ones that are in there for the right reasons and giving them an experience here at Clemson that I think is first class.”

Six of the last eight national championship-winning teams in women’s basketball have had at least one transfer in their starting lineup. As transfers continue to be impactful, that’s likely a trend that will continue.

GLENDALE, AZ — There was some strange symmetry to it all, a torch passing no one saw coming. 

Miami, everyone, is built and playing like an SEC team. 

The SEC, meanwhile, just polished off a postseason where it lost a conference-record eight games against other conferences. 

“We line up, and we want to punish you on offense and defense,” said Miami defensive end Akheem Mesidor. “You’re going to have to play your absolute best game to beat us.”

Well, well. Now who does that sound like?

Here’s a hint: the bully on the block that has fallen, and can’t seem to figure out why or how to get back up.

From dominating college football with 14 national titles since 2003, to the fateful irony of the SEC brought back to the pack by its own greed. 

The SEC wanted Texas and Oklahoma, wanted to drastically change the conference footprint of the sport, and then sat and watched while the Big Ten panicked and did the same, while the Pac-12 was eaten and eliminated (it ain’t the same now, people), and while the Big 12 and ACC were relegated to second citizens.

The SEC, along with the Big Ten, then grabbed control of the postseason and threatened to take their ball and go home unless everyone fell in line. They want more access to the postseason, and they’ll surely receive the lion’s share of revenue from what could be a near $2 billion annually expanded College Football Playoff. Like it or not. 

They wanted unregulated NIL and free player movement, or at the very least, did next to nothing to stop it. They, along with every other FBS university, knew for 16 months that states of California and Florida had passed bills that would become law in June of 2021 — and did nothing about it. 

They punted, and begged Congress for help. Imagine that, two self-interested and wildly dysfunctional entities trying to figure out a massively complex financial and structural problem.

What could go wrong?

The bigger question is, what did they think the rest of college football would do? Certainly not sit and take it. 

There are millionaires and billionaires who love their universities and are obsessive about winning. Throw open the doors to NIL and free player movement — and legalized big booster involvement — and watch how quickly the SEC looks like the ACC. 

Watch how quickly Alabama comes back to the pack, and Georgia can’t get out of the quarterfinals in the CFP. How quickly LSU and Florida and Texas A&M spend hundreds of millions of dollars to fire coaches and start over. 

More to the point, watch how quickly the deep-pocket Cody Campbells of the world begin to simply play by the rules laid out by the SEC and Big Ten ― and build teams that look and play like SEC teams of the past. 

Want to know why Texas Tech won the Big 12 for the first time in school history, and won a school-record 12 games? It had one of the best defensive lines in the nation, and a Top 5 scoring defense.

Want to know how Miami has finally found itself again after more than two decades of stumbling around like NC State? The Canes have the best defensive line in the nation, with two edge rushers who will be Top 15 NFL Draft picks.

Remember all of those nasty and dominating defensive lines at Alabama and Georgia, all of those NFL draft picks? Nothing defined SEC dominance, SEC national titles, quite like physical, game-changing defensive linemen.

Now they’re leaving high school and/or the transfer portal for the highest bidder. The idea of playing for the SEC, while certainly tempting, is quickly trumped by another zero at the end of a paycheck. 

“More options for players, that’s the big thing,” said Miami safety Keionte Scott. “If it’s not working for whatever reason at another place, there are options.”

It wasn’t working for Scott at Auburn, which hasn’t found an answer since firing Gus Malzahn after the 2020 season. So Scott became one of six transfer starters on Miami’s defense — including the entire secondary — and is now a game away from a national championship. 

Meanwhile, the SEC hasn’t looked further away from winning it all ― having gone three straight seasons without playing in the national championship game for the first time since 2000-2002.

Go ahead and expand the CFP to 16 or 20 or 24 teams. Go ahead and continue to declare players don’t want to be employees, and avoid the one thing that could deliver some semblance of control to a player procurement process with no guardrails — just because you don’t want to share more money when collectively bargaining. 

And Indiana, with the largest alumni base in college football, will continue to spend its way out of the NCAA cellar. Will beat Georgia to sign Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Miami, with its deep pocket boosters begging for a return to glory, will do the same.

So will Texas Tech and Utah and BYU and SMU and … see where this is headed?

Right to the end of SEC dominance. 

Bill Belichick is adding an experienced offensive coordinator to his coaching staff at North Carolina football for the 2026 college football season.

On Friday, Jan. 9, the Tar Heels announced the hiring of Bobby Petrino as the offensive coordinator. Petrino spent the last two seasons with Arkansas as the offensive coordinator and was promoted to interim head coach following the firing of Sam Pittman.

Belichick and the Tar Heels opted to part ways with former offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens on Dec. 12, after one season.

‘We are fortunate to add an elite coaching talent in Bobby to our staff,’ Belichick said in a statement. ‘He brings an extensive background and a proven record of success on offense at every level of football. Bobby has consistently built great offenses everywhere he has been, and we look forward to having him work with our program.’

UNC finished 2025 as one of the worst offenses in college football. Out of 136 FBS teams, the Tar Heels finished No. 131 in total offense and No. 121 in scoring offense (19.3).

Petrino brings previous head coaching experience to Belichick’s staff, with stops at Louisville (2003-06), the Atlanta Falcons (2007), Arkansas (2008-11), Western Kentucky (2013), Louisville (2014-18) and Missouri State (2020-22).

With the Cardinals, Petrino coached 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time ACC Player of the Year Lamar Jackson. Last season, the Razorbacks ranked 19th nationally in total offense with 454.8 yards per game.

‘I’m extremely excited to join Coach Belichick and the Carolina football program,’ Petrino said. ‘This is an incredible opportunity to work with one of the best at a storied institution. I cannot wait to get started in Chapel Hill alongside this coaching staff and student-athletes.’

The WNBA and its players won’t reach a new CBA agreement by Friday’s deadline, entering a ‘status quo’ period. What happens now? What does that mean?

Under ‘status quo,’ the working conditions established in the current CBA would remain unchanged. It allows both sides to continue negotiations. The current agreement also prevents the WNBA or its players from engaging in a work stoppage without giving proper notice.

‘Obviously, we’d hoped that we would be a lot farther along than we are, because it’s been about (15) months at this point, but at the same time, we have to stay strong in what our values are and what we’re standing for,’ Minnesota Lynx forward and vice president of the players association, Napheesa Collier, told ESPN. ‘The players feel really united right now. We’re waiting for the league to come back, and we’re not going to accept a bad deal. We’re waiting for the league to come back and respond to our thoughtful and reasonable proposals.’

‘We’re just going to continue to negotiate in good faith,’ said New York Liberty forward and co-vice president of the players’ union Breanna Stewart on Thursday.

In December, WNBA players voted to strike if the CBA negotiations remained at an impasse. However, Stewart maintains that asking for a strike is ‘not something that we’re going to do right this second, but we have that in our back pocket.’ From the league’s perspective, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports that the WNBA has no plans to lock out its players.

As the two sides continue negotiations past the Jan. 9 deadline, they remain apart on player salaries and revenue sharing, including whether revenue is shared from the WNBA’s gross or net. The WNBA’s latest offer included a structure in which players would receive more than 70% of net revenue and a maximum salary of $1.3 million in year one. The max salary could then grow to $2 million over the span of the agreement. Additionally, the average salary would eclipse more than $530,000, growing to more than $780,000 over the life of the deal. The minimum salary would initially increase to $250,000.

Still, the union’s executive director, Terri Jackson, told USA TODAY Sports that no one should believe the WNBA’s latest offer is a ‘good deal.’

‘The players know the difference between doing business and creating clickbait,’ Jackson said in a statement. ‘They are focused on the system. Despite what the league and the teams are trying to do, the players are not confused by the numbers. The players want a meaningful share of the revenue they are creating. They want to be properly valued in these negotiations and this next CBA. They do not want to be paid last with only a fraction of the dollars left over.’

The WNBPA announced this week that it created global ‘player hubs,’ allowing players to continue training and keep their fitness levels high in the event of a work stoppage. Universities such as Stanford, Cal and UNLV are opening their doors to WNBA players. Fitness centers operated by Bay Club and Exos will do the same.

Even with many moving parts and a strike not out of the question, Stewart remains optimistic about both sides eventually reaching an agreement.

‘While we are both seemingly far apart, there is a place where we can come and find a mutual ground,’ she said.

During the past two years, Curt Cignetti has engineered one of the most remarkable and unimaginable turnarounds in American sports history.

Under Cignetti’s watch, an Indiana football program that was synonymous with losing has morphed into a national powerhouse, with an undefeated record and a No. 1 ranking this season. It happened quickly, too, with Cignetti’s first Hoosiers team going 11-2 in 2024 and making the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff just one year after going 3-9 and capping off a three-year stretch during which the program managed a measly record of 9-27.

On Friday, Jan. 9, Indiana will put its unblemished mark to the test when it takes on Oregon in the Peach Bowl. With a win, the Hoosiers will make the national championship game, a destination that was inconceivable for the program as recently as 15 months ago.

While Cignetti has understandably and justifiably earned a significant praise for Indiana’s rapid rise, he hasn’t done so alone.

Indiana’s 25-2 record in two seasons under Cignetti has been made possible by a number of factors, including the Hoosiers’ top two assistants – offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, both of whom have been coaching with Cignetti at every stop since 2017, when he was the head coach at FCS Elon.

As Indiana heads into its College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with Oregon, here’s a closer look at the team’s coordinators:

Who is Mike Shanahan?

Shanahan is in his second season as Indiana’s offensive coordinator and has been coaching with Cignetti since 2016 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a Division II school in Indiana, Pennsylvania, about 55 miles east of Pittsburgh.

He made an immediate impact in his first season with the Hoosiers. An Indiana team that averaged just 22.2 points per game the previous season nearly doubled its output in 2024, averaging 41.3 points per game behind a transfer-heavy offense. That season, his offense set program records for touchdowns scored (70), points scored (537) and most 40-point games in a single season (8).

This year, the Hoosiers have been even better, averaging 41.6 points per game, the third-best mark in the FBS. That output helped quarterback Fernando Mendoza win the Heisman Trophy, making him Indiana’s first-ever recipient of the award.

The 36-year-old Shanahan’s accomplishments in his first two seasons in Bloomington earned him a new three-year contract with the school that runs through the 2028 season. Under that deal, Shanahan will make $2.4 million in the first year, $2.5 million in the second year and $2.6 million in the third year.

A former all-Big East wide receiver at Pitt, Shanahan has been coaching wide receivers for Cignetti since that 2016 season at IUP. He was the wide receivers coach for two seasons at Elon (2017-18) and served in the role at James Madison from 2019-23. He added offensive coordinator duties in 2021, and the Dukes had one of the top 25 scoring offenses in the FBS in each of his final two seasons there despite having just made the jump up from the FCS level.

Here’s a stop-by-stop look at Shanahan’s coaching career:

• 2014: Pitt, volunteer assistant
• 2015: Pitt, graduate assistant
• 2016: Indiana University of Pennsylvania, wide receivers coach
• 2017-18: Elon, wide receivers coach
• 2019-20: James Madison, wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator
• 2021-23: James Madison, offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator
• 2024-present: Indiana, offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach

While he shares a name with the former NFL head coach, Shanahan is not related to Mike Shanahan, who won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos in the late 1990s, or his son Kyle, the ninth-year San Francisco 49ers head coach.

Who is Bryant Haines?

Like Shanahan, Haines has been with Cignetti for much of the past decade. 

The 40-year-old Haines was Elon’s linebackers coach from 2017-18 before following Cignetti to James Madison, where he was the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for three seasons before being the Dukes’ lone defensive coordinator from 2022-23.

James Madison finished among the top 25 scoring defenses in each of Haines’ final two seasons there, with his final unit allowing just 19.5 points per game.

That success has carried over to Indiana. After inheriting a defense that allowed 29.9 points per game in 2023, Haines’ first group with the Hoosiers finished sixth in the FBS in scoring defense, at 15.6 points allowed per game. That unit has been even stingier this season, giving up only 10.3 points per game, the second-best mark in the FBS.

Several of the players from Haines’ defense have earned All-American honors during the past two seasons, a group that includes linebacker Aiden Fisher, defensive lineman Mikail Kamara and defensive back D’Angelo Ponds. All three of those players began their college careers under Haines and Cignetti at James Madison.

This season, Haines was named as one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, given annually to the best assistant coach in college football. The winner will be announced in February. He was a semifinalist for the honor last year.

Back in December, after the end of the 2025 regular season, Haines signed a new three-year deal with Indiana through the 2025 season. Under that contract, he will make $3 million in the first year, $3.1 million in the second year and $3.2 million in the third year.

Haines was a four-year starter at linebacker for Ball State, where he was an All-Mid-American Conference honoree.

Here’s a stop-by-stop look at Haines’ coaching career:

• 2009: Manchester College, defensive line coach
• 2010-11: Adrian College, strength & conditioning coach and defensive line coach 
• 2012: Indiana, graduate assistant
• 2013: Ohio State, graduate assistant
• 2014-15: Indiana University of Pennsylvania, strength & conditioning coach and defensive line coach
• 2016: UC Davis, linebackers coach
• 2017-18: Elon, linebackers coach
• 2019-21: James Madison, co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach
• 2022-23: James Madison, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach
• 2024-present: Indiana, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach